Greetings Citizens of Treasure Falls!
In this post I will take a look at the eight different Hero Cards included in The Trials of Tolk the Wise Campaign for The Quest Kids and also explain how the cards are unlocked over the course of the campaign. Let's go!
WHAT IS A HERO CARD?
As you make your way through The Trials of Tolk the Wise campaign players will unlock Hero Cards which contain special character powers that are unique to each Quest Kid! Each character can unlock two Hero Cards over the course of the five quest campaign.
HOW TO GAIN HERO CARDS
You unlock your character's special Hero Cards by gaining stars during your adventure. The Hero Cards are unlocked by reaching specific CUMULATIVE campaign star totals. Meaning, you will need to keep track of the stars you earn each quest. At the end of each quest you will add up your total star count for the whole campaign and if it reaches one of the goals you have unlocked a Hero Card!
Therefore, it is still important to gain as many stars as you can while playing The Trials of Tolk the Wise campaign!
Here's the chart explaining how many stars you need to unlock each Quest Kid's level 1 and level 2 Hero Cards. You will notice that the smaller the player count in your campaign the higher the star requirement to unlock Hero Cards. (chart coming soon!)
The Hero Cards are located inside the sealed Hero Card envelope. Once a player has reached the star requirement to unlock their first Hero Card this envelope should be opened. You should only remove Hero Cards that have been unlocked.
IMPORTANT: Hero Cards can only be unlocked at the END of a quest. So, if you reach a Hero Card star goal in the middle of a quest you must wait until the end of a quest to gain your new Hero Card.
HOW TO USE HERO CARDS
All unlocked Hero Cards should be placed in the CAMPAIGN CARDS section of your player board.
You can use a Hero Card at any time during your turn. You can use a Hero Card in addition to other special ability Kind Kid Cards and Ally Cards during the same turn. However, you can only use one Hero Card per turn.
Once a Hero Card has been played it should be flipped over to signify you have used that hero ability.
SPOILER ALERT
The discovery of the different Hero Cards over the course of the campaign is a fun part of the game play experience. I would highly recommend reviewing the cards below only after you have unlocked them during your campaign. I will discuss all of the level 1 Hero Cards first and then move on to the level 2 cards.
I will dive into the level 1 Hero Cards below this group of bad guys!
LEVEL 1 HERO CARDS
Instead of repeating what is already printed on the card I am going to simply list below each card answers to questions we have had during play testing and anything else that I think may help you when playing these cards. I might also add a little bit of flavor as well! Here we go!
Skylar wields an axe which contains the Purple Tolk Gem of Power, which allows her to pull more power from her surroundings on occasion.
Power Surge should obviously be played after Skylar explores a Dungeon Tile and reveals an Ability Tile. Skylar gets double the power and also the normal amount of any other abilities listed on the Dungeon Tile.
Power Surge cannot be used on power earned via Ally Cards or Kind Kid cards.
It is no secret that Noah loves treasure. In fact, he has been known to spot hidden treasure that less treasure-hungry heroes may have missed.
Treasure Hunter should be played after Noah explores a Dungeon Tile and reveals an Ability Tile which contains the treasure icon OR the "+ ANY COMBO" choice.
Treasure Hunter cannot be used on treasure earned via Ally Cards or Kind Kid cards.
Ivy is a quick and nimble Elf, which allows her to access parts of the cave that are blocked for the rest of her team!
Elf Jump has many strategic advantages. It can be used early in the game to get to a green tile that nobody else can reach. It can also be used in conjunction with abilities that allow you to look at tiles before you move. First peak, then leap!
Elf Jump cannot be used to jump diagonally.
One of the first spells a young Quest Kid wizard learns is the healing spell. With it Crash can heal himself or a friend!
When using Healing Spell Crash must discard a magic card to heal himself or to heal a friend.
Crash does not gain any Kind Kid cards if he uses Healing Spell to heal himself...however, he does get a health card!
In order to heal a friend Crash must be able to reach that friend without needing to go through walls or unexplored Dungeon Tiles.
That wraps up the Level 1 Hero Cards. If you have any questions you can skip quickly to the comments at the bottom of this blog (there will be a buffer down there to prevent spoiling the Level 2 cards).
Next I will discuss the Level 2 Hero Cards. Onward!
LEVEL 2 HERO CARDS
While Skylar is a Quest Kid, she is also a Viking, and Vikings are known for their sudden bursts of power and fury during a battle!
When using Viking Bash Skylar does not need to reveal the cards she searches to the other players.
TIP: the best time to use Viking Bash is when Skylar has a lot of ability cards. This way she can potentially scare away more than one monster during her turn.
Viking Bash can be used to scare away already revealed bad guy tiles (in addition to searching new tiles). Already discovered bad guys count as one of the three tiles you can explore when using Viking Bash.
It is not required for you to try to scare away a bad guy that is revealed when using Viking Bash. However, if you decide not to try and scare away any of the bad guys you discovered OR you do not find any bad guys then your turn is over. You cannot decide to explore an ability tile after you have played Viking Bash.
Noah is known to look for the occasional short cut. This is true when he is doing chores around the Tree House HQ, trying to beat Ivy in a foot race and attempting to scare away bad guys.
Sneak Attack is a pretty simple, yet powerful ability. It allows Noah to potentially scare away a monster without needing to ask for help!
Ivy wields her Elven Long Bow with precision and grace. With her weapon she can scare away bad guys that are a great distance away.
When using Long Shot Ivy does not need to reveal the cards she searches to the other players.
It is not required for you to try and scare away a bad guy that is revealed when using Long Shot. However, if you decide not to try and scare away any of the bad guys you discovered OR you do not find any bad guys then your turn is over. You cannot decide to explore an ability tile after you have played Long Shot.
It is a very memorable day when a young wizard successfully completes their first warp spell. To begin saying a spell in one location and finish saying the spell in a new location is awesome (as long as you end up in your intended location!).
When using Magic Warp you can search any three tiles regardless of where they are on the board. You do not need to reveal the tiles you search to the other players.
If you use Magic Warp to warp to a tile YOU MUST STAY ON THAT TILE. Meaning, if you warp into the middle of the red tiles you must play from that tile on your next turn.
Crash gets double the magic and also the normal amount of any other abilities listed on the Dungeon Tile.
USING HERO CARDS IN THE BASE GAME
After you have completed The Trials of Tolk the Wise campaign I'd love for you to use the Hero Cards when playing the base game version of The Quest Kids. Simply give the character specific Level 1 Hero Cards, Level 2 Hero cards or both to players at the start of a game.
That concludes our journey through the Hero Cards found in The Trials of Tolk the Wise campaign.
I tried my best to explain every possible question that may come up when playing with Hero Cards, however I am sure I missed something. Please leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below and I will be happy to answer them.
Thanks for playing The Quest Kids and always remember...a Quest Kids quest is never done!
Ivy and Crash's abilities are awesome, but Skylar and Noah's L1's are too similar. Perhaps Noah's could have some mitigation against bad treasures? Like when you are taking your double treasures, you can discard any bad treasures and take other ones. As-is they are carbon copies of each other, just with power and treasure.